SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2021 EP

2021 EP

2021 EP belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.204 AU it takes 1.32 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 41
Orbital Period · P
1.32 yr
v(q)
31.8 km/s
v(Q)
23.2 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.02 km
TJ
5.25
Eccentricity · e
0.1571

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 1.015 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.393 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.378 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.204 AU gives an orbital period of 1.32 yr, or about 483 days.

An eccentricity of 0.157 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

The orbital plane is tilted 12.8° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 31.8 km/s at perihelion and falls to 23.2 km/s at aphelion.

Size and surface

No direct size measurement is available; from an absolute magnitude of H = 26.14 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.02 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 41 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.6245 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 7 signals a poorly constrained orbit, so its future path should be treated as provisional.

About these computed values

Orbital periods, perihelion and aphelion speeds, and diameter estimates on this page are computed by SpaceAtlas from the JPL SBDB orbital elements. They are derived quantities, not values copied from the source catalogue.

Orbital Parameters

Semi-Major Axis
1.204 AU
Eccentricity
0.1571
Perihelion
1.015 AU
Aphelion
1.393148 AU
Inclination
12.8°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
349.53°

Orbit diagram

The Sun sits at the focus (orange). Earth's orbit is the grey circle at 1 AU. The red dot marks the object's position at the catalog epoch.

3D orbit (interactive)

Drag to rotate; scroll or pinch to zoom. The Sun is at the focus (orange), Earth's orbit is the grey ring at 1 AU, and the red dot marks the object's current position.

Close approaches

Predicted close approaches to Earth, from NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS).

Date (UTC)Miss distanceVelocity
2029-Feb-06 23:15 0.386468 AU
57814824 km
16.16 km/s
2029-Jul-30 05:30 0.344045 AU
51468333 km
7.40 km/s
2033-Aug-20 01:33 0.365772 AU
54718735 km
8.33 km/s
2037-Sep-07 13:38 0.383243 AU
57332381 km
8.64 km/s
2062-Feb-14 00:53 0.173228 AU
25914600 km
12.68 km/s
2066-Aug-11 00:45 0.349925 AU
52348052 km
7.96 km/s
2070-Aug-31 16:16 0.378605 AU
56638565 km
8.56 km/s

Distances in astronomical units (AU) and kilometres. Source: NASA/JPL CNEOS Close Approach Data API.

Physical Parameters

Diameter
— km
Albedo
—
Density
— g/cm³
Rotation Period
— h
Absolute Magnitude
26.14

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.62451
Condition
7
Orbit ID
—
Data source: NASA JPL Small-Body Database · NASA CNEOS. Orbital periods, perihelion and aphelion speeds, and diameter estimates on this page are computed by SpaceAtlas from the JPL SBDB orbital elements. They are derived quantities, not values copied from the source catalogue.

Keep exploring

Explore asteroids, comets and near-Earth objects with JPL orbital data.